Jarryd Hayne has today been sentenced to five years and nine months jail, with a non parole period of three years and eight months, for sexually assaulting a woman in her home in 2018.
Handing down Hayne’s sentence, Judge Helen Syme said, “I do not accept that he was not aware she was attempting to push him away and trying to physically resist him…it was very clear she said no several times.”
“I have found the offender was fully aware that the victim was not consenting and went ahead anyway. His decision to do so increases the objective seriousness.”
“I have found the offender was fully aware that the victim was not consenting and went ahead anyway. His decision to do so increases the objective seriousness.” – Judge Helen Syme as she sentences Jarryd #Hayne for sexual assault. @9NewsSyd
— Tiffiny Genders (@tiffgenders) May 6, 2021
In March, Hayne was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in a retrial, after the original trial ended last year in a hung jury.
The woman testified that Hayne was “rough, forceful and inconsiderate” and that she had said “no” and “no Jarryd” before he took her jeans off. She said she was “numb” and the assault was “forceful and fast”.
Judge Syme said Hayne only stopped the sexual assault on the woman when he noticed she was bleeding, not because she was telling him no.
She said Hayne “does not accept that he did anything wrong, and for reasons best known to himself cannot accept the decision of the jury”.
Before the sentencing on Thursday, the woman gave a victim impact statement in court, and said the rape had affected her “mentally, physically, socially, academically”.
“I felt dirty and violated. He made me feel like an object and was looking straight through me,” the woman said.
“My vagina was stinging in a throb-like sensation and I couldn’t understand or fully comprehend that he had just done that to me. I sat on my bed hugging my knees and staring into nothingness.”
The woman said she experiences flashbacks of Hayne’s face, and that she was unable to work for six months, and also stopped her study at university.
“My body remembers and my mind hasn’t let me forget,” she said.
She also spoke about the impact of social media and public opinion has had on her over the last two years and throughout the trial period.
“The anger, frustrations and feeling of wanting to die was so strong, but I knew I wasn’t going to let them do that to me or my family,” she said. “People talk about my vagina, my choices, and like to give their opinions based on what they’ve heard, and it is the most helpless feeling.”
“No matter what happened before or after the assault, no matter who he was or what he’s done, no means no.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence or sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.